At the end of every day are you willing to sign your name, knowing that you gave all you could to that day? I am talking about whether you are willing to take ownership of how you conducted your life and business. “Will I sign my name to the end of this day?” is a question I've been asking myself for a few years now. Believe me, there are times when I feel great about signing my name and days when I don't even want to look at the pen. Usually those are the days where nothing has gone right or every step I took forward was met with a new challenge.
There is grace in this question I ask myself. You'll notice that I don't ask, “Were you perfect today?” “Did you knock it out of the park with every sales call, interview, or interaction with a client or team member?” Rather, the question asks did you give all that you could? And, at the heart of that question is, “Were you true to your purpose and vision, were you true to you heart?”

There are so many important and unimportant things that can fill our day. We are called to meetings, we have to answer emails, tend to client needs, and handle interruptions. The list goes on and on. With a world constantly vying for our attention and giving us an infinite number of choices on how to fill our day, it can be difficult to look back after a long crazy day and see any semblance of purposeful execution that you want to sign your name to.

To help combat this I've created a small checklist of four must-do-items that I know I can accomplish no matter what I experience in a given day. Even when it seems like I've accomplished nothing and there is no reason to sign my name to the day, I know that if I can answer yes to the four questions below, it is a day worthy of my signature.

Did you extend grace to someone today that either did not deserve it or was in need of it?

Did you encourage someone by validating his or her gifts and talents or speak an encouraging word to someone in need?

Did you laugh about something?

Did you express appreciation for a blessing in your life?

Now some might say this is a crutch for under-achievers and people that always make excuses for not doing what they know they should. My only answer to that sort of criticism would be that it has never been a crutch for me. I believe this is because of my understanding and love for living out my purpose each and every day. I think people that look for a crutch will always find one. People living a life on and running a business on purpose know there is no greater joy than spending the majority of their day performing high payoff activities doing a job they love.

It’s easy to sign your name to the days that seem to go perfectly and yield wonderful results. This list allows me to sign my name to EVERY day no matter what challenges I face. It leaves me refreshed and energized to have the next day be a day that I once again can sign my name to.

Question: What is your definition of a day that you can sign your name to?